NFL Increases Penalties for Domestic Violence Offenders

But not really, because everything is still subject to "mitigating circumstances."

The NFL supposedly took a step in the right direction Thursday when Commissioner Roger Goodell announced that the league would enact stricter penalties for players who commit acts of domestic violence. In a letter addressed to all NFL team owners, Goodell wrote that domestic violence offenders will be subject to a six-game suspension after the first offense and a lifetime ban after the second. After one year, a player may apply for reinstatement, but Goodell claims that "there will be no presumption or assurance that the petition will be granted." Goodell went on to sort of apologize for the controversy surrounding Baltimore Ravens player Ray Rice, writing, "At times, however, and despite our best efforts, we fall short of our goals." Though he didn't mention Rice by name, he did refer to "a recent incident of domestic violence" to which he feels the NFL responded poorly.

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Earlier this summer, the NFL faced backlash when Rice assaulted his wife and was caught on video dragging her out of an elevator. He was then penalized with a ludicrously lenient two-game suspension, which of course did not sit well with domestic violence advocates or pretty much anyone else with a conscience. And while these new measures are ostensibly an improvement, it's worth noting that players are still allowed to hit their wives and girlfriends once, because one time is just a fluke, right? Furthermore, since the "lifetime ban" incurred after a second offense can actually be challenged after one year, it's entirely plausible that no one will stay banished forever. So what, exactly, is different? Oh, nothing.